Anybody up for talking about "DNA repair" ingredients? Telomerases, that sort of thing? Or is this way too geeky?

I'm willing to listen if you want to share your knowledge. I may not have anything to contribute. I understand that telomeres are one of the latest hot topics in health care. But don't know much more.

Let's start with this cosmindustry piece, although a bit fluffy.

New research highlights importance of telomere activity in aging

A focus on telomere activity has been playing an increasingly important role in high-tech anti-aging skin care solutions, and new research may point to further developments for the application of this technology.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) say they have identified a new pathway that sets the clock for programmed aging in normal skin and body cells, in a study that was published the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Previous scientific research has already documented how telomeres wear away during cell division, which leads to degradation and eventually the death of the cell. Ultimately this leads to age-related cell damage, which in the case of skin, manifests itself in fine lines and wrinkles. Specifically the study has focused on the interaction between a toxic protein called progerin and telomeres, identifying how this toxin caps the ends of the telomeres. Progerin acts as a toxin and shortens telomeres. Progerin is a mutated version of a normal cellular protein called lamin A, which is encoded by the normal LMNA gene, the researchers point out. Lamin A helps to maintain the normal structure of a cell's nucleus, the cellular repository of genetic information.

Scientific studies have previously documented that the shorter or damaged telomeres tend to stimulate or activate production of progerin, which is the trigger for the cell damage. The more the telomere shortens, the higher the rate of progerin production.âOur sense from the start was that progeria had a lot to teach us about the normal aging process and clues about more general biochemical and molecular mechanisms," NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., and a senior author of the current paper.

Another study shows that the mutation that causes progeria â a rare disease that leads to premature aging in children - strongly activates the splicing of lamin A to produce the toxic progerin protein, leading to all of the features of premature aging suffered by children with the disease.

Interestingly, the researchers also observed that modifications in the splicing of LMNA are at play in the presence of the normal gene, a process known as RNA, and one that alters how a normal cell processes genetic information when turning into a protein.
The researchers have documented that this alteration in RNA splicing affects the processing of the LMNA messenger RNA, leading to an accumulation of the toxic progerin protein, the shortening of the telomeres, and cell degradation.

Telomere shortening is key "Telomere shortening during cellular senescence plays a causative role in activating progerin production and leads to extensive change in alternative splicing in multiple other genes," said lead author Kan Cao, Ph.D., an assistant professor of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Telomere Biology has become a hot topic in anti-aging skin care research. In a study released on November 28th 2010, in the online journal Nature, a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School reported on the first reversal of the aging process in a mammal.
By reactivating telomerase, they rejuvenated worn out organs in mice that were the equivalent biological age to 80 year old humans.

Notice how the Nature study gets woven in. The study had nothing to do with skin, but the industry is into wild extrapolations.

_________________If you make, first do no harm, your Law, you will never strike the first blow and will be known as a man of peace who can fight like ten tigers, a Human in the act of Being. There is no greater rank than this. Ashida Kim on War.~Cellese~AnteAge Serum and Accelerator, DermaRoller ,MyFawnie AA2G serum, KNN G ForceUltrasound., SEA, ChrySun 25% ZnO

OK, now having tantalized, I am going to share what I consider to be a really good paper. The full text pdf is available, so we can read it together and get a little deeper into the topic. Bottom line is that I think there are some research pathways worth following.

Skin is a self-renewing tissue that is required to go through extensive proliferation throughout the lifespan of an organism. Telomere shortening acts as a mitotic clock that prevents aberrant proliferation such as cancer. A consequence of this protection is cellular senescence and ageing. The telomerase enzyme complex maintains telomere length in germline cells and in cancer cells. Telomerase is also active in certain somatic cells such as those in the epidermis but is almost undetectable in the dermis. Increasing evidence indicates that telomerase plays a significant role in maintenance of skin function and proliferation. Mutations in telomerase component genes in the disease dyskeratosis congenita result in numerous epidermal abnormalities. Studies also indicate that telomerase activity in epidermal stem cells might have roles that go beyond telomere elongation. Telomeres in skin cells may be particularly susceptible to accelerated shortening because of both proliferation and DNA-damaging agents such as reactive oxygen species. Skin might present an accessible tissue for manipulation of telomerase activity and telomere length with the potential of ameliorating skin diseases associated with ageing.

One of these days you guys will all be saying; "Jeeez, we should have saved our money and listened to Kassy..".. (She was a pain in the a$$, always shoving antioxidants down our throats..)

_________________♥I'm flattered by all the lovely PM's, but I don't get here much these days. Please don't be afraid to post your quearies to other DIY members who will be glad to help you (or sell you their wares..lol) Still happy with LED, dermarolling and a DIY antioxidant regime. Peace & Hugs to all.♥

Beyond the edelweiss plant, much has been written in the press about the âMagical Swiss applesâ (I love all of this talk of Switzerland!). The supplier of Uttwiller Spatlauber applies is Mibelle, also from Switzerland. You will find brands including 3Lab and Sonya Dakar touting the benefits of these magical apples, which also focus on rejuvenation and anti-aging.

The apple stem cell malarkey shot the blog into the nether regions.

Personally, I would not want my work posted next to that, as it lends credence to the bunk. Unfortunately.

_________________If you make, first do no harm, your Law, you will never strike the first blow and will be known as a man of peace who can fight like ten tigers, a Human in the act of Being. There is no greater rank than this. Ashida Kim on War.~Cellese~AnteAge Serum and Accelerator, DermaRoller ,MyFawnie AA2G serum, KNN G ForceUltrasound., SEA, ChrySun 25% ZnO

Beyond the edelweiss plant, much has been written in the press about the âMagical Swiss applesâ (I love all of this talk of Switzerland!). The supplier of Uttwiller Spatlauber applies is Mibelle, also from Switzerland. You will find brands including 3Lab and Sonya Dakar touting the benefits of these magical apples, which also focus on rejuvenation and anti-aging.

The apple stem cell malarkey shot the blog into the nether regions.

Personally, I would not want my work posted next to that, as it lends credence to the bunk. Unfortunately.

You will be glad to know that Nikki was confronted and willingly capitulated on that topic. She didn't write that piece (it was a guest blog, by a non-scientist) but she also didn't independently verify the facts, she admits. Note that she didn't edit out the strongly refutational comments. No cover up here. Her willingness to allow debate, be challenged, and to expand her knowledge base rather than defend a shaky position convinced me that she is one of the good guys. Because our mission is to support these sorts of efforts, I have agreed to help out in my area of expertise. So let's give Nikki credit for how she handled that. Stark contrast with that other site we won't mention that would rather die on the junk science trash heap than admit they don't know something.

Bovine colostrum as a biologic in clinical medicine: a review. Part I: biotechnological standards, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characteristics and principles of treatment.
Struff WG, Sprotte G.
Source
Center for Transfusion Medicine, MÃ¼nster, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service West gGmbH, MÃ¼nster, Germany. w.struff@bsdwest.de
Abstract
Mammals supply their newborn before birth, at birth or shortly after birth with antibodies, immunocytes and humoral constituents. This "borrowed immunity" is a form of passive immunization to protect the newborn against environmental pathogens until it establishes its own pathogen recognition and disposal systems. In cows, goats, horses and some other animal species, most immunoglobulins are obtained from the colostrum, the first milk after birth, via the gut but in humans the majority of immunoglobulins, and those of the IgG-class in particular, are acquired from the mother by placental transport in the weeks prior to parturition. It has long been known that the consumption of bovine colostrum by humans has therapeutic effects e.g. in gastrointestinal infections, but only since the second half of the last century has it been possible to prepare stable, standardized preparations of colostrum. These biologics are administered to patients in combination with standard therapies as so-called balanced supportive diets. Investigations with standardized colostrum preparations in animal models of human disease and estimates of bovine IgG activity in the human GI-tract, described in this review, have provided preclinical data supporting the use of bovine colostrum in human diseases. On the other hand, the number of bovine colostrum products with a sufficiently large and reliable database is limited and the precise nature of the therapeutic targets is still being evaluated.

There are several smaller brands of colostrum cream, but the big names don't seem too interested.
Easy to DIY too, though you can only do small amounts because it's perishable like any dairy product.
Considering the good stuff in colostrum it could very well be the ideal ingredient for ageing skin or skin with inflammatory problems like rosacea or eczema

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